HSA Bank Health & Wealth Index(SM) reveals 3 key findings about consumer engagement

MILWAUKEE, /PRNewswire/ -- HSA Bank, a division of Webster Bank, N.A., released its annual HSA Bank Health & Wealth Index^SM for 2019 today, a report that explores how consumers are faring when it comes to their financial and physical health. More than 2,000 U.S. adults were surveyed about their health plan enrollment status, health practices, ability to pay for healthcare, and confidence in their own health and wealth. Each consumer received a combined health and wealth score between zero and 100. Of those surveyed the average consumer remains highly engaged in their health and wealth with an average index score of 62.3 in 2019, compared to 62.4 in 2018.

Key findings from this year’s HSA Bank Health & Wealth Index found that consumers remain focused on their physical health and often report high levels of confidence in their physical and financial health, but there is still an opportunity to improve engagement related to consumers’ limited health plan knowledge and financial behaviors. The three overall themes the survey revealed include:

• Consumers are unfamiliar with important aspects of their health plan.
  About 15% of consumers were unable to identify their health insurance plan type, and another 3% mistakenly identified their insurance carrier as the type of plan. That’s roughly one in five consumers who are unsure about the basics of their health insurance plan.
• Physical health engagement is a priority for consumers.
  For the second year, 86% of consumers believe they made lifestyle changes to improve their health in the past year, and over 90% receive at least one preventative health exam each year.
• Financial best practices are not being implemented.
  Saving and considering cost are two fundamental aspects of financial responsibility, but 40% of consumers never save specifically for future healthcare expenses, and 30% never consider cost when selecting healthcare services.

“In order to keep consumer engagement growing, it’s imperative that employers take the necessary steps to offer guidance,” said Chad Wilkins, president of HSA Bank. “Here at HSA Bank, we empower employers with tools to educate their employees so that they too can be highly engaged and informed about their health and wealth decisions. Employers have an opportunity to measure engagement and provide recommendations for improvement using the Health & Wealth Index calculator.”

HSA Bank will be holding a web seminar on Tuesday, March 26, titled “Why Employee Health & Wealth Engagement is a Big Deal!” which will provide an overview of what it means for employees to be engaged in their physical and financial health, how demographic factors and health plan type impact engagement, and how to make health and wealth engagement actionable for employees. To register, please click here.

To view the full report, visit hsabank.com/healthandwealthindex2019.

About the Study
A survey of more than 2,000 randomly selected U.S. adults ages 18+ was conducted in order to gauge physical and financial health across the country. It was designed to provide participants with an overall health and wealth consumer index score. The survey was commissioned by HSA Bank and executed by a third-party organization. The margin of error for this sample size is +/- 2.18% at the 95% confidence level. Smaller subgroups have larger margins of error.

About HSA Bank
HSA Bank is a trusted leader in consumer-directed healthcare (CDH), focusing on Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for over two decades and serving as both the bank and administrator. Discover how we can support your benefits strategy with our comprehensive account-based health benefit solutions that include HSAs, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), and Commuter Benefits. With a reputation for outstanding service and thought leadership in the CDH space, we offer one platform and one portal for all of our members. HSA Bank inspires 2.7 million members and more than 35,000 employer groups to “own your health” by making it easy to access, understand, and afford healthcare. As of December 31, 2018, HSA Bank has $7.2 billion in total footings comprising $5.7 billion in deposit balances and $1.5 billion in assets under administration through linked investment accounts, and is a division of Webster Bank, N.A., Member FDIC.

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SOURCE HSA Bank